Kerry Lea Jefferson was married to Dustin Jefferson, the son of Ginger Lea Jefferson. Kerry and Dustin had a difficult and volatile marriage, and on September 25, 2013, they were living separately. Dustin was staying at the home of his cousin, Carlos, in Tama.

At approximately 10 AM, Ginger and her daughter, Sahara, went to Carlos’ home to visit Dustin. Kerry was also visiting Dustin at the time. Ginger, Sahara and Dustin discussed the “politics” of Ginger returning to a job at the Meskawaki Settlement. At some point during the conversation, Kerry joined in and expressed that Ginger should “jump at the chance” to return. Ginger was upset by Kerry’s participation in the conversation.

Kerry left for approximately an hour to visit her mother. During that time, Ginger, Sahara and Dustin drank alcohol at Carlos’ home. When Kerry returned, she brought a bottle of whiskey and joined the others in drinking.

Sometime before 1 PM, Ginger, Dustin and Sahara left in Dustin’s car. During the drive, Sahara became upset and tried to jump out of the moving vehicle. Dustin stopped and allowed Sahara to get out, and she walked into a cornfield. Sahara refused to return to the car so Dustin and Ginger left her while they returned to Tama. A police officer later located Sahara wandering on the highway at 2:37 PM and transported her to the Grinnell Medical Center.

At approximately 1:30 PM, Kerry made her first of several telephone calls to the Meskwaki Police Department. She was providing the police with information on how to locate Dustin so they could arrest him on an outstanding warrant for sexual abuse. During the same period, Kerry made several calls to Dustin.

At 2:22 PM, Kerry inadvertently called the police department. The secretary who answered the call could hear Kerry arguing with two people. She heard Kerry yell they were both going to go to jail for what they did. The secretary was eventually able to get Kerry’s attention, and Kerry apologized for accidentally calling and then hung up.

Kerry made one last call to the police department at 2:35 PM. As a result of the call, officers were dispatched to Carlos’ residence in order to arrest Dustin on the outstanding warrant.

Two officers arrived at Carlos’ residence at 2:44 PM. As they neared the residence, they noticed Dustin’s vehicle was just pulling into the driveway and they pulled behind it. Sergeant Kimberly Schwartz approached Dustin’s vehicle and asked him to step outside of the vehicle. Instead of getting out, Dustin attempted to put his car keys back in the ignition as if to flee. Schwartz drew her Taser and ordered Dustin to step out of the vehicle. Dustin got out of the vehicle and stated that he needed to check on his wife.

Schwartz noted that Dustin seemed distressed and drunk at the time. He then told her that he thought his wife was dead and that the officers needed to go check on her. Schwartz observed what she believed to be blood on Dustin’s clothing. The police then entered the residence and found Kerry dead in a pool of blood on the floor. She had sustained two stab wounds to the neck.

Meanwhile, Amber Navarro – the girlfriend of Ginger’s nephew – was outside of her residence approximately a block from Carlos’ residence. She was waiting for the school bus to drop her children off when she heard Ginger inside the house yelling, “Daniel, Amber, Daniel, Amber.” Amber entered her home and found Ginger crying in the dining room. Ginger stated she “got into it with Kerry” and she believed Kerry was dead. Ginger told Amber she stabbed Kerry in the neck twice and blood started squirting out. Amber saw that Ginger had blood on her hands and was worried the children would see it when they arrived home from school.

Amber told Ginger to go to the kitchen and wash her hands. When she attempted to move to the kitchen, Ginger fell. When Amber tried to help her stand, Ginger touched Amber’s shirt and left a blood stain. Amber called her boyfriend, Daniel, who advised her to call the police. Before she did so, Amber called Carlos to warn him not to let his children go home from school. She was worried about what his children would find if they entered his home.

Amber also called Laurie Davenport – Ginger’s daughter-in-law – at the request of Ginger. Laurie heard Ginger say that she stabbed Kerry twice in the neck. Ginger then asked for “help with a bus ticket” so she could leave town. Laurie refused. Amber then called the Tama Police Department and reported what Ginger told her. Officers were dispatched and ultimately took Ginger into custody as a material witness. The same day, Amber delivered her t-shirt to the police station.

Ginger was taken to the police station and an audio recording was made of the interrogation. Ginger told the officers that she had gone to Amber’s directly after she and Dustin returned to Tama. She stated that when they returned to Carlos’ home, she saw Amber standing in the front yard talking on her cell phone. Ginger said Kerry had an “evil smile” on her face, so she decided to walk to Amber and Daniel’s home. She stated she was just talking and smoking with Amber when police arrived. She denied that she had harmed or quarreled with Kerry, and she maintained she never reentered Carlos’ residence after leaving with Dustin and Sahara. She could not answer police questions about how the blood had gotten on her clothing.

Ginger was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Dustin was accused of helping his mother kill Kerry. His first trial ended in a mistrial during jury selection. The second trial ended in a mistrial with the jury deadlocked at 11 to 1 in favor of guilty. Dustin will be sentenced on April 28 of 2016.